back on my blistered feet

My feet are still healing from the blisters (all 5 of them!) that I picked up on my hot barefoot run last week. They're squishy little bags of fluid that quietly whisper "stupid!" with every footstep. It'll be a little while before I can run barefoot again. My feet felt good enough that I could have run on Saturday but I had wall-to-wall family obligations from 9am - 9pm. (I live such the life, right? not really).

With Saturday taken up I was able to squeeze in a run on Sunday, the catch being that I had to take kid#1 with me in the BOB stroller for her nap. She didn't want to nap (as usual) but we came to an agreement. She naps while I run and when she wakes up, we stop at one of the local mom & pop markets for chocolate milk and some peanut butter cups. She kept up her end of the bargain so we stopped and sat on a bench outside Island View market. We watched the birds fly over the water while filling up on chocolate in solid and liquid forms. It's a small price to pay and a great way to get her to come with me for the odd run on weekends.  It's great running and talking to her as the miles pass by. "Why are you breathing so hard Daddy?"

I ended up putting in:
10.4 miles
1:29
Avg: 8:36/mi

That time might be a little fat though. I didn't stop my watch any of the 20 or so times that I had to pull off the road and wait for a car to pass by. 

I felt good great after Sunday's run so I ran again today. I had to go to an auto-auction in the middle of the day today so I couldn't run at lunch as I usually do. Instead I got up early and drove to the gym near work to run before heading into the office. I wanted to run an easy 10 miles but my legs didn't share that desire. I knew within about 5 minutes (the time it took for my aging Garmin to find a signal) that my legs weren't nearly recovered. I tried to run easy without blowing up. I really slowed down on the climbs and tried to just focus on slowly running up them rather than walking. When I got into the Bridle Trails I tried to pick up the pace for the first mile but gave up pushing it and went by feel. The mud on the trails had almost completely dried up, leaving them in great condition.

It's so much easier to run when you're not constantly working to find a path through the mud, hopping side-to-side to find precious solid footing. About 5 miles into the run my legs started feeling a little better and the pace picked up for the rest of the run. I got back to the gym spent with heavy legs and a grin on my face from the Dopamine rush.

I didn't get in the miles I wanted but I came close:
7.9 miles
1:04
8:12/mi

On a good day I'll do this run in under an hour easy, especially on dry trails. I'm happy with this run after yesterday's run and only getting 4.5 hours of sleep last night thanks to the Tour De Lance. I watched the yesterday's TdF stage last night before bed. The action on the last two hills was so good that I was glued to the TV.  I loved watching the old man pop off the back of the peloton. The look on his face as his tour changed from a competitive tour to a farewell tour was great. Maybe it's a sign that he's riding this tour clean.